Cubs pull within 1 1/2 games of Milwaukee

Sunday

Hear that? It sounds like the Cubs are like a herd of buffaloes pounding the ground loudly as they moved to within 1 1/2 games of Milwaukee in the National League Central.

Hear that? It sounds like manager Lou Piniella is soft-pedaling it.

Alfonso Soriano hit two homers, Derrek Lee added one and Sean Marshall picked up his first victory in more than a month and the Cubs whipped Cincinnati, 8-1, in front of a crowd of 42,365 - the fourth largest crowd in Great American Ball Park history. And thousands of vocal Cubs fans could be heard cheering all game.

Meanwhile in St. Louis, the Cardinals knocked off division-leading Milwaukee in a day-night doubleheader, which puts the Cubs (54-48) just 1 1/2 games out of first. They were once 8 1/2 back this year. The last time they were this close to the top was April 12, one day after their game with Houston at Wrigley Field was postponed by a snowstorm.

Despite the fact the Cubs are storming toward the top, Piniella shook his head and waved a dismissive hand when asked about narrowing the gap.

“It’s a little early to get Google-eyed over where we’re at -there’s just too much baseball to be played,” Piniella said. “But we’ve gotten ourselves in position, which is the most important thing. We have to keep grinding.”

“We’re right there,” Lee added. “If we keep winning series, we’ll put ourselves in a good position down the stretch.”

The North Siders picked up a huge break when Aaron Harang (who entered the game 10-2 overall this year and 6-1 lifetime against the Cubs), gave up a two-run homer to Lee in the opening inning and left the game after one frame because he had lower back pain. The talk in the Cubs clubhouse was that he slipped in the dugout after the first inning, but Harang said he felt it playing catch before the game.

Whatever happened, it meant that instead of facing one of the best starting pitchers in the game, they were able to attack a so-so bullpen and responded with six runs on eight hits with Soriano hitting his 17th and 18th homers of the season to pass Aramis Ramirez (16) for the team lead.

“I had some good swings (Friday, when he was 0-for-5) but tonight I had some very good swings,” Soriano said.

It was Marshall’s (5-4) first victory since a 3-0 win over the White Sox on June 24. Since then, he was shelled against Milwaukee (seven runs in two innings) but in his next three starts, he gave up five runs on 15 hits in 17 1-3 innings but all he had to show for it was two no-decisions and a loss because the offense mustered just four runs total when he was in those games.

But with Lee and Soriano banging the ball out of the park early, the southpaw had a 5-0 lead before he stepped on the mound in the second inning. He hadn’t had breathing room like that since June 8, when he won a 9-1 game against Atlanta.

“The guys came out and swung the bat and gave me a nice cushion,” Marshall said.

Marshall’s fifth-inning double was his first hit of the season, but he was later thrown out at home plate trying to score on Soriano’s single to the right field wall. Cubs third base coach Mike Quade had his hands on his knees and his head down after that play but Marshall said it wasn’t Quade’s fault.

“I haven’t been on base in a long time and I guess I didn’t get the best read on the ball,” Marshall said. “I wanted to make sure he (right fielder Norris Hopper) didn’t catch it. I got a bad jump. He shouldn’t take the blame for that. Next time I’ll try a little harder on the bases.”

The Cubs hope to end this six-game road trip with St. Louis and the Reds with a 4-2 mark if they come up with a victory today. The Cubs send Carlos Zambrano, who is 8-2 in his last 10 starts and 8-2 in road games this season. The Reds counter with Matt Belisle, who is 0-2 with a 5.94 ERA lifetime against the North Siders.

More Cubs coverage can be found online at www.dailysouthtown.com/sports

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